If I survive this blog with any students remaining in my studio, I will live to tell another hair-raising story. In the meantime, it’s a pertinent moment to expose pupil-snatching for what it is.

While we know about kidnappings of children, human trafficking, elephant poaching for ivory, and the rest, nobody bothers to examine the less conspicuous turnover of piano students that has tentacles of suspicion surrounding it.

A pupil snatch is just one of those events that can happen out of the blue or be meticulously planned.

And the way it plays out, has variations in and around piano studios throughout the country.

A few confidential e-mails sent my way from colleagues confirmed the worst. For some teacher victims, the snatch would have taken place out in the open at a local music competition.